


Coffee and Company

by Jaxin



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 05:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2609447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaxin/pseuds/Jaxin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years might have passed, but memory is the purest form of time travel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee and Company

It happens in New York City, after the years have cleared the licorice-and-ashes smell of the Black Lodge from his memory.

He’s sitting at a worn linoleum counter. His current partner has promised this place has the best coffee in the city, and he’s willing to give it a shot, but he’s never tasted any that beat the Great Northern.

A slim young woman with dull eyes pours him a cup, and he raises his hand before she leaves. “Just a minute, please, miss.”

The coffee is smooth and bitter, with an earthy undertone that he could find himself getting used to. It’s not the best he’s ever had, though. The young woman’s still watching him, a faint curiosity enlivening her gaze, so he pastes a smile on his face. “Pretty good, miss, pretty good. Thank you.”

She raises an eyebrow and leaves, and the smile fades. 

It’s then that he hears the footsteps approaching him, the light click-clack of heels that has never left his brain. She still walks the same way, her steps somehow mischievous and hesitant at the same time.

His smile comes back, and it’s real this time. “Audrey Horne.”

She sits next to him, lifting her chin as she stares at the chalkboard menu.

"It’s Horne-Cooper now, actually." Her hair’s as dark as he remembers, cut into a sharp, angular bob that emphasizes her high cheekbones. She’s wearing a deep plum sweater. The color puts him in mind of Empress Theodora, but that might just be the confidence with which she holds herself.

He shakes his head in bemusement, still looking at her. In this city of restless anonymity, she’s a sight for sore eyes. “Is it really?”

She turns to face him then, eyes alight with laughter and something deeper, something a bit more assured. “No. But it could be.”

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is." She leans in, and he finds himself mirroring her instinctively.

She still affects him the same way. _Pulse: elevated. Breath: quickening._ He almost returns to his old habits before he remembers there’s no need anymore. The measured breaths, the constant awareness of his own reaction to her… time has taken away their necessity. He can simply enjoy her company.

"Well then, Audrey, might I invite you to join me for a cup of coffee?"

"No." There’s too much impish happiness in her eyes for him to be bothered by her rejection, even as she stands. His heart begins to beat double-time when she reaches down and trances a finger over the crisp white cuffs of his shirt, looking at him almost shyly. "But I know a great place for coffee a few blocks over. Y’know, if you want to join me."

He can’t help the smile that breaks over his face. ”Audrey? I think I would.”

**Author's Note:**

> I live in the land of selective denial, where the second season wasn't a mess and Agent Cooper doesn't currently have a mental co-passenger.


End file.
